/prɪˈpɛər/
[verb] To make something or someone ready for a particular purpose or event, or to get yourself ready to do something.
To 'prepare' literally means 'to make ready before' — every to-do list is a small act of time travel.
The word 'prepare' comes from the Latin verb 'praeparare', which is built from two parts: the prefix 'prae', meaning 'before' or 'in front of', and the verb 'parare', meaning 'to make ready', 'to arrange', or 'to provide'. Together they painted a vivid picture of readiness achieved ahead of time — not just getting something done, but doing it in anticipation of what was coming next. The root 'parare' is ancient and deeply practical, connected to the everyday work of equipping oneself for action.
Latin 'praeparare' passed into Old French as 'preparer', where it retained its essential meaning of making things ready beforehand. Old French 'preparer' then moved into Middle English during the 15th century, arriving as 'prepare'. This was a period when English was absorbing enormous numbers of Latin and French words, particularly those connected with medicine, law, religion, and administration — fields where careful advance planning was a matter of life and death. 'Prepare' fitted naturally into this current.
The Latin root 'parare' is remarkably generous with its descendants. Following the chain of transmission: Latin 'parare' → Old French 'parer' → English 'pare' (to trim or peel). Latin 'parare' also fed into Late Latin 'separare' (to pull apart) → Old French 'separer' → English 'separate'. And Latin 'imperare' (to order, to command, built from 'in-' and 'parare' in its sense of arranging or making ready) → Old French 'emperer' → English 'emperor'. Even 'repair' traces back through Old French 'reparer' from Latin 'reparare' (to make ready again, to restore), showing how the idea of readiness folded into the concept of fixing broken things.
What makes 'parare' so interesting is its connection to ideas of provision and arrangement rather than mere speed or effort. The Romans used it when describing a soldier equipping himself for battle, a cook arranging a meal, or a traveller organising supplies for a journey. When English speakers say they are 'preparing' a document, a dinner, or an argument, they are echoing centuries of this same careful, forward-looking arranging. The word has always carried the sense that good outcomes require work done in advance.
Over the centuries, 'prepare' has expanded from its original practical, physical sense into psychological and emotional territory as well. Today we speak of preparing ourselves mentally for bad news, preparing a speech for a difficult conversation, or preparing for an exam — all of which would have been recognisable in spirit to a Roman soldier making his equipment ready the night before a battle. The word has grown but never lost its original orientation: facing forward, getting ready before the moment arrives.